Elson ONG
Research Associate, CML
elson.ong@nus.edu.sg
+65 6601 5966

Elson obtained his LLB (Hons) and LLM (Maritime Law) degrees from the University of Southampton in 2013 and 2015 respectively and is concurrently a first-year PhD candidate at NUS Law. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 2016 and practised with a reputable firm advising on banking, finance, real estate and infrastructure matters. He previously served as a member of the conveyancing practice committee of the Law Society of Singapore and is currently serving in the ITSC BCDLT TC study group of Singapore's TradeTrust initiative.

Research Interests

Elson's research interests are in the international sale of goods, carriage of goods by sea, electronic commerce, and commercial conflict of laws.

Publications

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Research Projects

Global trade can see attractive monetary returns from leveraging on blockchain technology to scale shipping operations. Pilot shipments using blockchain have reported tremendous improvements in productivity and cost savings. The value of blockchain technology is the realisation of an electronic record that can fully emulate the intrinsic properties of a tangible paper record. Blockchain technology should enable the possession approach for a critical shipping document, the bill of lading, but the possession approach for intangibles has been criticised. The reasons are examined together with a proposal for a new statutory classification of possessable intangibles. The project identifies the adverse side effects that may accompany the use of blockchain and DLT. It recommends mechanisms in which the shipping community can employ blockchain to enhance operations, while also protecting its conservative interests.

Presentations